


Oblivious

by zenmisery



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien and Marinette Are Confusing, Blind Date, F/M, Flirting, Oblivious Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir and Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Subterfuge, but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-25 23:40:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30096921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zenmisery/pseuds/zenmisery
Summary: Alya and Nino set Adrien and Marinette up on a date... or do they?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Comments: 8
Kudos: 97





	Oblivious

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mostlovedgirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mostlovedgirl/gifts).



> This is a birthday gift for my dear friend, mostlovedgirl (a bit late, sorry). She's a wonderful human and a fantastic friend, and I'm so glad to know her. She's also a really phenomenal artist and writer. Love you, mlg. Happy Birthday.

Alya watched through the totally inconspicuous hole she had cut in the newspaper she was holding. The waitress walked over and set down a third cup of coffee that Alya had yet to drink. To be fair though, she had instructed the poor woman to ‘keep em coming’.

She mumbled a ‘thank you’, but kept her gaze fixed on her target. A quaint and quiet corner table for two, where a couple of her best friends sat, talking and laughing.

She watched intently as they effortlessly flirted, their hands moving thoughtlessly to touch one another on the arm or hand or even brush a stray hair. It was entirely natural for them, it seemed, and Alya was flabbergasted that it had taken them so long to feel at ease together.

Alya had known for over a year that the two were meant to be… It was just a matter of facilitating the right environment for them to realize that themselves. Alya had managed to do just that, and it was going exceptionally.

Exceptional though it may have been, Alya’s jaw still inevitably dropped open when she saw their resident super model’s chair scoot closer, and his arm wrap around the shoulders of her best friend in the world.

She would’ve taken her time reacting to the incredible sight, but something else caught her by surprise at the same time. Just outside of the restaurant, Alya’s less-than-stealthy boyfriend appeared to be watching the same scene unfold. He seemed to have dropped his phone and barely managed to catch it before it hit the ground.

Grinning and adjusting her hold on the newspaper, Alya skillfully texted Nino with only one hand.

[AC: I see you’re also spying on our star-crossed lovers. Just get your cute butt in here, and we can observe together.]

She watched as Nino glanced down at his phone, nearly dropped it again, and scanned the area until his eyes finally found hers. Adjusting his signature cap and tucking his phone into his pocket, he made his way into the restaurant, hurrying to her side with a goofy smile on his face.

Once he sat down, Alya snatched the hat off of his head and hid it behind the newspaper.

“Seriously, Nino... didn’t you think that maybe they would realize you were here if you were that thing?”

“Nah, babe.” He waggled his eyebrows at her while he scooted his chair next to hers and quietly returned his cap to his head. “I was watching them from barely a foot away for a sec and they were obviously just in their own little world. Totally lost in each other’s eyes.”

Alya rolled her eyes at her careless beau, but she couldn’t help it, she found him irresistible and adorable. Not to mention the fact that the idea that their friends’ arranged date was going so insanely well made her heart soar. She was in a fantastic mood, and even Nino’s thoughtlessness couldn’t keep the smile off her face.

“Even if that’s the case, try to be a bit less obvious, please. I don’t want to risk ruining this. It was far too hard won.”

“Oh, believe me babe, I know.” Nino grabbed a knife and poked a couple more definitely unnoticeable holes in the newspaper so he could peer through next to her. “I had to jump through some hoops to make this happen.”

Alya pulled her eyes away from her target and grinned at her boyfriend. “You’re telling me. I had to practically trick Marinette to get her here tonight.”

Nino turned toward her, his head cocked slightly. “Huh. Same.”

Turning her body toward him more, Alya raised an eyebrow. “Hold up. Explain yourself.”

Suddenly looking nervous, Nino lowered the brim of his hat to cover his face slightly. “Uh… Well, I might have texted Marinette with Adrien’s phone because she texted him asking him out on a date and right then he was going on and on about how much he appreciated her friendship and wouldn’t want to ever mess that up, and…”

His voice trailed off when he noticed the color drain from Alya’s face.

Thinking he was in trouble, Nino leaned slightly away from the love of his life. “Babe? You good?”

“I… I don’t…” Alya stammered as she slowly turned her attention slowly back to the unwitting couple in the corner. “Nino. I texted him from Marinette’s phone to ask him on this date. You were texting me.”

Nino’s gaze joined Alya’s, watching their two best friends. “What’d you do with the texts after?”

“I deleted them, of course.”

Nino nodded, despite the fact that neither of them was looking at the other. “Same. And what’d you tell Marinette to get her here?”

Without tearing her eyes away, Alya swallowed the lump in her throat. “Well, I knew the only way she’d relax and be herself was if she thought she was just meeting him as friends, so I told her the four of us were meeting and then texted her a bit before to tell her I needed your help with something and neither of us could make it.”

Nodding once more, Nino stared hard at Marinette and Adrien. “Yeah. Similar thing for me. He would’ve been weird about making sure everything was perfect if he thought it was a date instead of just relaxing and enjoying himself.”

“So… neither of them think it’s a date?”

“No, no they don’t.”

In that very moment, seemingly out of nowhere, Adrien leaned close and whispered something into Marinette’s ear. She giggled and moved her hand to rest on his thigh. Over the next several minutes, the two of them all but made out, moving ever closer to one another, their hands never straying from the other and their eyes locked.

Alya and Nino just stared, completely shocked the entire time. It was Nino who finally broke the silence when Marinette draped her legs over Adrien’s and laid her head against his chest.

“What. Is. Happening.”

“I…” Alya began. “I think they just ended up together, maybe?”

“Finally.”

“No freaking kidding.”

* * *

A little over an hour and many more physical boundaries crossed later, Alya got a text from Marinette asking if she and Nino wanted to meet them for Andre’s ice cream. After they quickly and quietly made their way out of the restaurant before they could be found out, they took an indirect route to their destination.

“So they’re definitely together now, right?” Nino walked in a daze, his feet thankfully on autopilot while his mind wandered.

“I mean… I think so?” Alya tugged at the ends of her long, curly hair in thought. “I’m a little confused, to be honest. I really don’t know what happened with them, or why exactly, but I don’t think she would have ended up in that position on his lap if they weren’t… at least highly interested in being together. Right?”

Nino nodded furiously. “Right. That has to be it. Anything else would be crazy.”

“It’s not like they’re that oblivious. They couldn’t be.” Alya’s hand combed its way through her hair nervously.

Nino adjusted and readjusted his hat, second-guessing everything he knew about his best friend. “I… I really don’t know anymore, Alya.”

As they approached the place where they were supposed to meet up, they watched Adrien’s arm uncurl itself from around Marinette’s waist as they turned to greet their friends.

“Hey guys! Sorry you got busy and couldn’t join us for dinner, but we wanted to make sure we could still spend some time with you.” Adrien walked up to Alya and gave her a quick hug before turning to Nino to talk, guiding him slowly further away from the girls.

Alya glanced at the two of them, curious as to what Adrien might be saying. Ah well, she’d just ask Nino later. The poor boy was incapable of keeping anything from her. She turned her attention to Marinette, who was idly scrolling through her phone.

“Hey Mari, you and Adrien have a good time at dinner?”

Marinette’s head lifted up and she smiled. “Yeah, it was nice getting to hang out with him and catch up. I’m sad you guys couldn’t be there though.”

A little impatient for answers, Alya draped an arm over Marinette’s shoulders. “Yeah, sorry again. But uh… tell me… what did you guys do during dinner?”

Marinette looked a little taken aback by the question, suddenly getting nervous. “Oh. It was okay. I mean, it’s not like anything’s ever going to happen, but it was nice getting to feel like he actually wants to be closer friends, I guess.”

Alya blinked. Then again. She blinked once more.

Their time together as friends was enjoyable and intensely confusing. Adrien and Marinette would occasionally brush against one another while walking, or one would reach out and touch the other in a gentle, friendly way. Nothing even approaching the bizarre intensity of their interactions at the restaurant.

After they finished their ice cream and began walking back toward their homes, Alya and Nino hung back and watched the other two walking ahead. After a minute, Alya grabbed Nino’s arm and pressed herself against his side, leaning as close as she could in order to not be overheard.

“So. Do you think they’ve been together all this time and are hiding it, or do you think they’re really that oblivious?”

Nino shook his head ever-so-slightly, his eyes wide and bewildered.

“I… wish I knew.”


End file.
